Hello beautiful! Welcome back to the final post in my mini series of best workouts and skin routines depending on the time of day.
We’ve talked the best of AM, powering through the lunch time run and now winding down on a evening.
It might be tempting to finish a tough day at work with a big glass of red and a relax on the sofa, but if you can squeeze in a workout before you get home, you’ll sleep better and help to restore your muscles after a sedentary day.
Personally in a evening I opt for Pilates or yoga, as it can be a game changer for many people. If I’ve had a long day and need to unwind something like Pilates or yoga really helps me focus on the moment and not reliving my day at work. If you go home and replay your day over and over in your head you’ll relive it emotionally and trigged your stress hormone to go crazy << which causes spots and lack of sleep! There’s no way you can do a Pilates class or hold your yoga positions and still think about work… I’ve found these two classes to be very in the moment. Plus it isn’t too intense and won’t leave you struggling to get to sleep at night.
Pilates mat work
More importantly when it comes to my evening gym bag here’s what I’m packing:
You know what I’m going to say first right? REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP! I am loving Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm, I literally massage it into my skin (always in a upward motion) and let in sink in while I get changed. Then a quick wipe and everything comes off smoothly. It also leaves your skin feeling hydrated and not dry or tight pre workout and SMELLS AMAZING!
Elemis cleansing balm
No matter what you decide to do, Pilates, spin, weights or boot camp, don’t wait until your home to cleanse your face. Do it ASAP. I always keep a face cleanser in my gym bag and it doesn’t take long.
Gymbag basicsWhat’s in my gym bag
Your evening moisturiser is key, because your skin starts regenerating so you want to help give it a boost.
I always use a Vitamin C serum and most nights I’ll use Summer Fridays Jet Lag mask (you only need a pea size amount) but this is because I have such dry skin this really makes a difference, but everyone is different. Which ever moisturiser works for you go with but no matter your skin type you need something.
Jet lag face mask
Oh and I do the above while drinking a peppermint tea which is also great for your skin.
This is a simple and routine but still important. We all know to maintain our cars, teeth, brows & roots but skin is just as important.
Throw on your favourite pjs and get some well beauty sleep!
Welcome back to my mini workout & beauty schedule series. I started with the best morning workouts and how to prep your skin and next up (drum roll please…) the lunch time power hour!
If you follow me on Instagram or read a few of my posts you know I love a lunch time run, it’s a great way to get some fresh air and gives you a boost of energy for getting through the afternoon.
Running
Research’s suggest that a workout midday means you’ll get back to your desk happier and ready for a more productive afternoon. It’s so important to keep your body moving especially if you spend your days sat at a desk. Full body workouts are recommended, boxing seems to be the activity of choice for a lot of people with 30-45 minute classes. This is because it gets your body moving in a multitude of angles and is a great for working through some stuff if you’ve had a stressful morning! << it’s on my list of things to try.
I know it’s a pain and can be daunting to remove your makeup and it’s quicker just to sweat through but trust me here… take it off and your skin will thank you for it. Sweating through layers of makeup is only going to result in uncomfortable red and sensitive blemishes, which ends up needing more makeup to cover up and before you know it it’s the never ending circle of makeup coverage and break outs.
Always carry some makeup remover with you, I’m not a fan of wipes as I think they pull at your skin far too much, but whatever you choice to remove your makeup quickly is better than leaving it on. I am really loving Glov, this on the go cleansing glove, it’s perfect because I just leave it in my gym bag and I’ve always got it with me.
Glov
Now you’re ready to kick some ass at your chosen workout!
Once your workout is done cleanse your skin again, you don’t need to make this a look no process or anything fancy. Even just hot water and soap is all you need.
Post-workout I use a mist spray first to help rehydrate my face and because it’s soooo refreshing then Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment I’ve found this really helps to hide signs of fatigue while helping to keep the skin hydrated, don’t be put off by the green colour of the cream it turns beige when it comes into contact with your skin I promise. I wait for this to set in and then use my absolute favourite IT Cosmetics CC cream, honestly I don’t even own a foundation at the moment I just use this all the time. These simple products teamed with Big glass of water will also help skin to stay plump throughout the afternoon.
DR Jart
IT COSMETICS
Don’t forget to head back to your desk and eat something with a carb/protein ratio of about 2-1; it could be a smoothie or a protein bar, but after so much muscle-building you want to make sure you have enough protein to support muscle growth.
BTS: loading my salad up to get me through the afternoon:
Hey hey hey. You know I’m a girl that’s on the go but looking after herself 24/7 so I’ve put together a mini series for you guys to walk you through what I do throughout the day and WHY.
I’m someone who likes to mix up their routines whether that’s morning noon or evening. I’m generally a morning person and like to get my ass out of bed and moving before I give myself the excuse not to! However I do try and add some structure to what I’m doing at what time of day and consider what my skin and body need post workout to help me be the best version of me. I’ve put together a mini series to share with you over the next couple of weeks to get real specific about what I do when and what is essential to my beauty routine straight after.
Honestly timing is everything when it comes to exercise, when you workout you put your body under pressure and you get your stress hormones going so I like to keep the level of exercise in line with the time of day. For example you may think that if you do a hardcore workout late in the evening you’ll go home and crash out, not necessarily! When you get your heart rate up and the blood pumping mixed with the endorphins it can be stimulating for the brain making it harder to get a good nights rest. I’ve talked about it before, but sleep is one of my beauty ride or dies.
Everyone is different and some people do find it better to workout in an evening or maybe it just fits into your schedule easier, you have to do you here and find your sweet-spot. It will make all the difference but whatever the time of day pack your gym bag with glow-inducing skincare essentials for healthy glowy skin 24/7.
Upper body workout
Depending on what kind of day I’ve got planned and whether I’ve made it into the gym or I’m at home depends on whether I’m doing weights or a full body HIIT workout. No matter which one I go with I ALWAYS start with some basic yoga stretches.
When you’ve been lying down for 8 hours you can’t just hop right to it (and you should always warm up anyway). Yoga can be energising and uplifting first thing and helps you wake up your body in a healthy way. Little tip I learnt in one of the many hours I spent reading… lunging with your right leg forward first helps aid your digestion system and that’s good for everyone!
Both HIIT and weights are known for burning calories even after you’ve finished your workout so I love doing these first thing, also more I challenge myself before 7am the more I feel I’ve achieved and it really helps set the tone of my day. I feel like I can do anything!
I know I preach the importance of washing your face but I also know there’s a balance and washing too much is bad for the skin- you don’t want to strip your skin of it’s natural oils.
Pre morning workout I actually don’t do anything apart from brush my teeth and drink green tea and a quick spray of my favourite balancing mist to help wake me up and give my skin a boost of hydration.
Post morning workout skin is where I get serious. Let’s brake it down.
1) Dry brush! Have you heard about dry brushing? I feel like most people have & are on board but if not let me give you a quick summary. I got mine off amazon and it’s a little hand held brush for exfoliating. You use it while your skin is still dry (hence the name dry brushing) then starting at your ankles you work your way up the body in circular motions towards the heart. This not only wakes your body up in a morning but is also amazing for your circulation and lymphatic drainage.
Dry brushing
2) Shower. I’ll wash my face in the shower with warm water. Always start with warm water as it opens the pores so you can clean your skin and get any dirt or sweat out of them. Last 30 seconds blast the cold! It’s a great way to wake yourself up and also close your pores. I try not to get cold water on my face as I still want my skincare to sink in.
3) Moisturisers, YOUR WHOLE DAMN BODY! Your skin is an organ and the biggest one you have. It covers all of you and it all needs to be kept hydrated especially if you’ve worked up a pretty decent sweat. By now if I’m at home I’m probably on my second green tea or peppermint if I’m at the gym I’ll be on my second bottle of water. Always looking after my skin inside out.
4) Right clothes on now for the face, from all the podcasts I’ve listened to, all the blog posts, microblogging and books I’ve read there’s one thing I’ve learnt that you can’t ignore. When it comes to applying skincare start with the most water based products and work up the the heavier ones. A toner or serum isn’t going to sink in through an oil so your getting none of the benefits. I go; mist, toner, serum, colour corrector (not everyday but some days it’s a must more than others), Rosehip oil (eyes & forehead only), moisturiser, spf then makeup AND ALWAYS WITH A COLD JADE ROLLER. It’s less complicated then it sounds I promise, & here’s a sneak at what my current layout looks like…
Beauty skin routine AM
5) Quick restyle and freshen up of the hair, I hardly wash it and try to avoid using heat so my hair is pretty low maintenance 6 days a week and I’m ready to head to work.
Work like a boss with a braid
By this point I’m probably starting to get a little hungry as well so I’ll grab a pre-made juice or smoothie with added collagen to help boost hydration and keep your skin looking glowy while reducing fine lines and wrinkles from within. The perfect age prevention cocktail.
What’s your favourite AM workout or are you up & out?
They’re the most talked about beauty tool of 2019… but what’s so amazing about them.
It’s an ancient Chinese practice that’s been used for thousands of years to help maintain facial fluid, it rejuvenates the elasticity of skin, repairs your skin cells, fights inflammation, improve circulation, reduce wrinkles, replenish your facial muscles and well it just works!
Jade roller beauty
Still not sold?
Firstly I mentioned jade roller as that’s what I have, but these little tools come in a multitude of stones from jade to rose quartz to amethyst (which I’ve just learnt is known for helping creativity so seriously considering investing in a little something made from this for my desk, anyway…)
I wanted to get into why I think these little things are worth the investment, and also to clarify they’re not big bucks! I’ve seen some for £80+ but don’t know anyone who paid that.. Personally mine was £15 from amazon.
Must do:
• Keep it cool. I keep mine in my fridge, some people keep theirs in little beauty fridges or just somewhere nice and cool. The cool stone on your skin is a great way to A) help depuff your face first thing or reduce any swelling/ water retention and B) stimulates lymphatic drainage. Also around the eyes it feels amazing in a morning.
• ROLL UPWARDS! This helps sculpt your skin and you never want to drag the skin down.
• Always remember the neck, don’t leave your neck out it’s just as important you want to take your routine down to the chest if you can.
How to use a jade roller
I always apply serum to my face first (currently using this amazing vitamin C serum to help boost the brightness of my skin) this also helps lubricate the skin allowing the roller to move smoothly over your skin.
The added bonus is that the stone doesn’t absorb any of the serum just helps to work it into your skin making sure your skin gets all the benefits from your chosen serum.
Why I’m so in love:
• It’s skin care
• Mindcare (I just sit there for a couple of minutes rolling my skin listening to a podcast or just breathing, kinda like meditation)
• It’s selfcare
It’s all of these wrapped into one pretty little tool!
Breakdown of the different rollers:
Rose quartz: this stone is associated with bringing love into your life. I’ve also read that cleopatra bathed with this stone.
Jade: is associated with luck and is considered to bring balance.
Amethyst: as I mentioned this is associated with creativity and is a Kardashian favourite right now.
So this has been a talking point for me lately, mostly because I HATE washing my hair. It’s effort and it ruins my colour. It’s been a few months now but I only wash my hair once a week and I try and tie that in with a swim session it just makes sense.
Last week heading back from our yoga and brunch morning (yes I’m aware this sounds basic but what are Sundays for really…) my cousin turned to me and voiced her concerns around dandruff. It’s not something either of us have ever had previously but I couldn’t lie to her, recently usual a day or two before I wash my hair, I do see a few white flakes forming. I have exactly the same concerns!
Long and blonde
I’m also not ashamed to say I’ve skipped a workout or two (okay countless workouts) to keep my hair looking fresh, if my boyfriend and I decided to go out for dinner on a Friday evening I’m sure as hell not going running at lunch, I’ll pay for it tomorrow but I want to look good you know?
So I got to do some research on what can cause dandruff and our concerns were verified… sweat and product build up on the scalp do cause dandruff.
Gym hair
Here are 3 tips I wanted to share that will keep your hair fresher without the haunting experience of washing it after every workout, because let’s face it we all have places to be and lives to be getting on with.
1) Dry shampoo. I know this must sound like an obvious statement. We all use dry shampoo it’s the ride or die beauty product we all own. But here’s a little secret, you wouldn’t start working out without a warm up and you shouldn’t hit the gym without pre dry shampooing your hair. Yep! That’s right, apply dry shampoo BEFORE your workout section off your hair and spray onto your roots, paying extra attention to the nape of your neck and I focus on my front hair line as these are the sweetest areas for me. Doing this before you sweat means the dry shampoo will absorb moisture as you workout leaving less sweat on your scalp but without stripping it of natural oils.
Dry shampoo
2) Style it right. How you style your hair for the workout is so important. If I’m doing something low impact where I’m not going to work up AS much of a sweat I’ll go for braids, cute look and the heat from the workout in the room will help keep my hair wavy afterwards. If I’m running or getting real sweaty I’ll opt for a messy bun. You know the one right on top of your head. This keeps my hair away from the areas that are most likely to get sweat such as the nap of my neck. Short hair you can probably get away with a pony tail but my hair is now at that length that when I run the ends will literally stick to my back… gross I know but true story.
Sport braids
3) Don’t be afraid to get wet. Post workout if you have the time you can still freshen up your hair with a splash of water on the roots and a quick blowout. Just spray some water on your roots blow dry it out, spray with some dry shampoo, maybe some texture spray and I love to finish with this blonde spray that I added a couple of drops of grapefruit oil to to make it smell even better.
Hair essentials
But hey we’re all different and everyone’s hair does it’s own thing so only you know you.
What are you doing to keep those locks looking great on the go.
What’s your ride or die gym hair products? Comment below and let me know.
Will definitely try out any tips you guys have for keeping my hair looking as fresh as possible.
Happy Sunday everyone, doesn’t everything just feel better when the suns out? I’m loving working out outdoors this week, it’s such a refreshing change.
Every week at 5:30am Sunday morning my alarm is going off. Yep I’m THAT girl. Crazy early morning workout even on a weekend. What can I say I like to workout before giving myself an excuse not to, although I can think of plenty while hitting snooze, but I also like to get it over and done with and have the rest of the day to myself. Also let’s face it we look better after a workout, not immediately but when the beetroot has faded we look & feel better.
As you can imagine at 5:30 am I’m not sitting there giving myself a facial massage for lymphatic drainage and jade rolling. However, there are a few things I make sure I do, no matter how tired I am, before I work out. You don’t workout without a warm up so why push your skin? It’s just asking for breakouts. I like to keep this pre workout stage as simple as possible, think basic bitch but more basic.
Here’s my 3 pre workout skin care tips.
Light.
This sounds weird I know but switching lights on, open the curtains or get outside, tells your brain to get moving. We all need a little motivation first thing.
Mini cleanse.
I like to wash my face first thing and get out anything that may be blocking my pores. I have such dry skin that I use a fairly thick moisturiser at night so I get all of that out of my skin and let it breath again. In a rush? A all in 1 waterproof miscellaneous cleaning water works wonders and will life away any dirt in your pores while removing the need for additional rinse and repeat. I’ve also being using Elemis pro collagen cleansing balm it’s too early to review the product but I can tell you with complete certainty it smells AMAZING!
Pre workout skin cleanse
Hydration.
Green tea for my body (Although I’ve been loving mint water lately so refreshing) & my disciple for my face. I know I constantly go on about this anti inflammatory oil balanced cocktail but it really is a fav right now, I’m taking it everywhere and at £15 why should it not be in your bag, on your dresser in your gym locker? Back to the point, dehydrated skin is unhappy skin. It looks dull because dead skin cells are blocking your pores. Freshen it up and hydrate from the inside out.
Face mist
BONUS ROUND! If I’m heading outside on the occasion that it’s nice & dry ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN. I’m a little crazy when it comes to this honestly 365 days a year no matter where in the world I am. If the sun is out so are the UV rays. All this hard work to look good I’m not going to let a wrinkle or two stop me.
Are you already doing any of these or have your own routines? Share below.
We’re all guilty of a little #wanderlust & why not? What’s not to love about seeing the world, experiencing new cultures & ways of life & genuinely having a great time.
I’m not one of the people that can rock up to a beach & set up camp for two weeks, it’s just not my style. I want to explore, meet new people & eat everything the country has to offer me! Travelling for me is the best kind of exercise, I walk until my legs can’t go any further, I laugh until my abs hurt & I eat guilt free which is great for the soul don’t you agree? Okay I also drink my body weight but hey I’m on holiday.
As you may have seen from my Instagram lately (@reali_tee) or my last blog post I’ve recently spent two weeks exploring Italy. My boyfriend & I rented a fiat 500 & set off around Tuscany hill hoping from town to town. Honestly in Tuscany it’s always leg day. There’s always a tower I want to climb with a minimum of 400 vertical steps, I do love to hit my 10k step count and walking is the best way to see the city, beautiful gardens & art galleries. At the beach? What a beautiful way to see the coast line & all the hidden rock pools/ caves. A few years back on a girls holiday we ended up on a mini hike all day up & down it actually turned out to be a laugh & everyone enjoyed it.
It may not be the same as a heavy weight session in the gym but in 35C+ heat you will definitely be sweating your ass off!
Top of Milan cathedralSeville bridgeBali beachDavid
As I’m all about looking after my skin pre, during & post sweating while looking good on the go I wanted to share with you some of the key products I took away with me. We both agreed to travel light so I strategically considered what products I would need to keep me looking fresh day & night, you never know when you’ll see the next selfie moment on the go.
Florence River
1) SPF! This should not come as a surprise as I’m always going on about the importance of sun protection. The burnt lobster look was never & will never be in fashion. I’m sorry I don’t get the craze of people being impressed with how red they went after one day in the sun, it’s uncomfortable, painful, causes cancer & ruins your holiday. I may not have been by the sea this time but walking around towns & cities it’s still important to protect your skin. Your skin is a organ, the biggest one you have. Take care of it. I love love love Bali body, it’s natural ingredients hydrate my skin smell amazing & ensure I’m protected.
Bali body spf
On the subject of UV rays never forget your shades, on my first trip to Italy in January 2016 my delightful cousin brought her trusty Raybans, myself & our friend laughed at her for this, it’s January who needs shades? Please see below the following photo of Sara looking ever so happy with two squinty companions … not a strong look.
Sunny Milan
Tee’s Tip: unsure if you need sun cream? Take a look at your shadow, short shadows mean low UV long shadows cream up!
2) Disciple Balance mist. I love a face mist anyway, especially after a workout, it just picks you straight back up hydrates the skin & helps takes you from sweaty to glowy. Designed for long flights and late nights you can use this product anywhere, anytime for anything. If a product isn’t multi functional it’s not making the cut into my suitcase or gym bag & this one’s a personal fav. It’s super hydrating & fights inflammatory skin issues, including adult acne, eczema and premature ageing. WINNER I also love that the brand is completely clean & natural. This was the perfect size to carry around either in my daily backpack for a quick pick me up or in my evening bag to help keep my makeup in place.
3) Lanolips 101– what I didn’t say about this in my microblog on Instagram probably isn’t worth mentioning. This product is the master of multitasking.
Lanolips 101 mulitbalm
4) Mr Natty Sea Salt Spray, great British company with some great products. Okay yes Mr Natty is a barber & I may have used my fair share of my boyfriends product here. BUT… sharing is caring after all & this sea salt spray smelt amazing, added texture to my hair & kept my wavy curls looking tame(ish) & natural. Also in my defence the bottle reads for surfers & mermaids…
Mr Natty seal salt sprayNatural wavy hairy
5) My moisturiser of choice… IT Cosmetics CC cream, I’m not a fan of loads of makeup anyway & on holiday I wear even less, it just clogs your pores up and I feel icky. This simple product is not only SPF 50 but basically airbrushes your face leaving you looking natural & flawless in one product. I got this miniature from Boots.
IT Cosmetics CC cream
So there’s my 5 travel / leg day in the city essentials. All are multifunctional & effortless but I still fell like it’s worth mentioning my two ride or die beauty hacks, 1) water & 2) sleep.
Even more than normal I make sure to stay hydrated on holiday, it’s so important when you’re moving around so much, with the added heat & additional alcohol my bag was never missing a bottle of water.
Benefit of being on holiday, additional beauty sleep… after an incredibly early flight & the excitement of wanting to explore Perugia (our first stop) we headed straight out after we had checked in, did a little exploring got some food a few aeprol spritz & by the time we crashed out we slept for about 12 hours. Unsurprisingly I spent the rest of the holiday without dark rings under my eyes. Shall we see how long that lasts?
Are you planning your summer holiday or getting ready to pack your bags? What beauty products make the cut? I want to know, comment below.
As you know I’m a girl always on the go, admittedly I’m usually going from my desk to a run then into a meeting, however I’m currently travelling around Tuscany. Usually on holidays I love to walk EVERYWHERE honestly I set step count records, however this year the plan was to road trip and see as much of the country as we could. Excited by the idea of hikes through vineyards and Aeprol Spritz I set out do some research to see what off the beaten track adventures we could go on. I read a few years ago that there were natural springs in Italy but many were being claimed by hotels and turned into spas. Wanting to get that authentic experience I found one unclaimed hot spring in the heart of Tuscany, Bagni San Filippo.
I’ve never visited a natural hot spring before and this one certainly did not disappoint. If you use a map to get here it’s slightly confusing as it can’t locate exactly where or how to get there, so knowing we were roughly in the right place we parked up and walked up the hill following the sound of flowing water. Like I said I’m a fan of walking, it’s so good for the body and mind. And what’s better than a natural spa experience at the end of a long walk…
Natural hot springItalian hot spring
Here’s exactly why you should find your nearest natural hot spring and go for a dip:
• It’s filled with minerals such as calcium and sodium bicarbonate which help boost your blood circulation.
• The cocktails of minerals found in natural hot springs also help relieve tense muscles which we all need after a mini hike.
• I don’t promote hot baths before bed however as these springs are outdoors when you leave your body temperature drops allowing for a better nights sleep.
• It’s amazing for the skin, whether you’ve got dry / rough skin or a skin condition the natural mix of minerals can help resolve most of these problems.
This experience summed me up completely, a nice walk (all up hill as we parked right at the bottom) nature and some natural R&R.
Italian job10k steps
Do you workout on holiday or simply relax? Let me know…
Happy National Rosé Day. Surely this should be a bank holiday weekend right? We should be allowed an extra day off work to enjoy a nice chilled glass of rosé, although the British weather right now isn’t exactly screaming summer vibes. Okay I’m going off on a tangent here, lets circle back…
I don’t know about you but I am not one of those girls that can spend 3 hours + getting ready for a night out, if I’m going out I want to be out out! The whole, shower, wash my hair, blow dry, style, prime face etc etc just gets boring to me. I’m a one hour girl at most. I’d much rather be out drinking the rosé than reapplying my eyeliner for the 3rd time because the flick wasn’t right.
National rosé day
I’m an extrovert get me out of here…
My point is whether I’m going from the gym to the office, or from bed to the coffee shop or more importantly heading to a bar I want to be getting to where I need to be, not messing about with three different shades of blusher. But of course I ALWAYS have to look presentable, it’s just nice to take some pride in yourself right. So (no surprises here) but I have a routine, and I have this down to 45 minutes. It doesn’t matter if I’m getting ready at the gym or in my bedroom I know what products I need where they’ll be and I’m good to go.
Here are a 3 hacks I do to make sure my mornings start off right, if anything throws me off course too early it changes the whole tone of my day and I find that it will just throw me off, anyone else?
1) Sort it out the night before. Yes I’m hyper organised and if being a PA paid more I’d probably do that just for the enjoyment of organising peoples lives, but here’s what I do. I prep EVERYTHING the night before, & I mean EVERYTHING. Even the underwear I’m wearing. Because I think sleep is so important I like to get every last second I can in bed so all my meals will be prepped the night before, if I’m going to the gym my gym bag is packed all toiletries in the bag and gym clothes laid out on my chair so I can literally get out of bed, wash my face drink some water, brush my teeth get a peppermint tea to go and head straight out. This can result ion carrying about 10 different bags but it just makes life easier. I’ll also make an iced coffee the night before. I really try to limit how much money I spend on coffee a month and since I started getting coffee pods from Grind delivered (this is totally on point today as all their branding is pink, just like rosé) my home made coffees are just better. Sorry coffee shops but it’s true, I get the best London coffee straight out of my Birmingham home. Anyway, bags are packed food is ready and coffee is good to go. I’m out the door in 15 minutes.
Prepackaged your stuff the night before
2) Keep your stuff together. I feel like everyone is on the tidying hype lately with the likes of Mrs Hinch & Marie Kondo all over social media that organisation is in fashion. With fashion comes loads of cute boxes & storage options. I have two little boxes one for AM & one for PM (these are actually the boxes that my Grind orders arrived in, no plug I promise but they’re the perfect size, pink & really cute). As I’ve mentioned before I love to buy stuff in sample sizes because it’s just more gym bag friendly. This makes life so much easier when getting ready because I know exactly where my stuff is so I can just grab & go. Ironically there are three things I ALWAYS lose… headphones (I forget which pocket of which jeans/ coat/ bag I was wearing) glasses (which is annoying once I’ve taken my lenses out, now I need glasses to find my glasses) & keys…
The AM boxKeeping your stuff together
3) Keep the makeup looking simple. Call me a basic bitch but I’m not a fan of a heavy made up face. I like to look like me, and if it’s a day I plan to go running at lunch or to the gym after work I really don’t want to spend ages removing layers and layers of makeup. Honestly once the skin care is done, I can keep it as simple as 4 products. IT Cosmetics CC cream, clear brow gel to brush my brows into place, bit of mascara (honestly I can live without this some days especially if I’m wearing my glasses, big glasses are great to hide behind) & Lanolips 101 ointment, 100% natural multi-balm for your lips. I love this product so much. You only need a little but it really softens the lips smells great and leaves a classy shine.
Must have’s on the go
There you have it, my 3 little hacks to getting out the house and ordering that rosé so much quicker.
As usual nothing mention in this posted was gifted or sponsored but things I love and the options are my own, but I want to know yours.
What do you do on the go? Any top secrets on how to look completely put together in under an hour?
So I recently I wrote about the simple rules of skin care, one of which was doing your own thing.
I’m sad to say… I broke my own rule.
The reason I started this blog was because I was reading so many beauty, skincare blogs however none of them giving me exactly what I wanted, just bits and pieces. I follow so many of these bloggers on Instagram filling my feed with beautiful layouts of bright colours and textures and the same products over and over. Typically you see the likes of Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, Glam Glow, The ordinary etc… The hype on these brands is difficult to miss and I found myself reading all these amazing reviews that I was dying to add these products to my shelfie.
Shelife
So when it came to placing a new order I decided to try a few new products and fortunately got the chance to try a few extra sample sizes of other products I was dying to try. (not gifted by the way just promotions at checkout available to everyone).
Watermelon mask
Here’s the thing… like I said everyone is different and my skin takes the concept of unique to a new level. Ever since I was a child it’s been super delicate, even changing washing powder I can brake out in a rash. This is made more complicated when brands start to change their ingredients and my skin does not agree.
Everyone is different, one of these products with such great reviews actually sat on my skin and didn’t sink in at all, in fact it went like flaky glue on face. You know when prick stick dries and you can rub it off but it flakes… not attractive!
Skin in need
This is the main reason I love travel size products, it gives me the chance to try something on a small scale without splashing out on a full size product that isn’t going to sting tingle and leave me looking like the angry hulk. Also they are grate for fitting in your gym bag and don’t take up as much room!
Red inflamed and swollen is not the in look this summer! Trust me on that people. That inflamed beetroot look is a real struggle for me, ESPECIALLY post workout. Here’s a few things I try to do to help limit any inflammation:
I try and avoid vitamin A products. All vitamins are important, but some products contain the active ingredient retinoids which can cause irritation if overused.
Avoid hot showers & baths.
Exfoliate sparingly, I know after a good workout a good scrub feels so good but overdoing it can cause redness and tightness of the skin.
I’ve started using The Ordinary Azelaic Acid brightening formula which is known for reducing redness & unclogging pores, it’s still early days on this product but I’ve been mixing a little in my daily moisturiser which is working well.
The ordinary
COLLAGEN! This is a absolute winner for me! I know it’s one of the it products talked about right now but this is a product I believe in, it’s full of amino acids which is not only great for your joints but also for reducing inflammatory. I’ve been using powdered collagen lately and adding it to smoothies.
Collagen smoothie
Top foods to help with inflammation; pineapple and blueberries. I literally eat them every chance I get. I’m loving dried pineapples at the moment but I’m not sure that’s as good for you, I may need to do my research.
As always the opinions in this post are my own and no products were gifted.
